The Ambassador opened the meeting and welcomed the board to the third annual board meeting. ADBC is on a good growth trajectory. The ground work accomplished since the first board meeting in 2013 has been positive and added value for the members. The new Ambassador is keen and hopes to carry forward with a vibrant ADBC.
The Ambassador shared that Kelsen is now part of Campbell’s soup and willing to assist with a food and beverage group. Boeing can help with contacts and the Ambassador and Steve Williams suggested other US companies that should be interested.
The Secretary’s report and Treasurer’s report were adopted. These can be found in the members only section of the website. If you have trouble accessing the members section please contact Lasse Eilenberg at laseil@um.dk.
Clint Eisenhower is retiring from Maersk and the board. However, his replacement has been named but not yet onboard. This position will be addressed later *.
Thomas Færch Brostrøm of DONG Energy was nominated and approved to fill the position vacated by Sarah Howell of Grundfos.
Sponsorships
Discussion took place on the role of sponsorships. In order to add more value and do more activities, ADBC will accept outside sponsorships for a particular event, etc. The executive secretary will work with the board to develop sponsorship packages for a series of events related to specific sectors and other general activities.
Congressional Friends of Denmark Caucus
The board agreed that the Friends of Denmark Caucus in Congress is a priority and finding a Republican co-chair is high on the list of priorities
In the fall, ADBC and the Embassy plan to hold a reception with the new Ambassador when the caucus is re-formed. Lauren suggested that the member companies work to help bring those members a company is working with into the Caucus. That is, Novo Nordisk’s contact on a committee relevant to them would be asked to join.
The Board will be informed when the caucus is formally re-established in order to engage with potential caucus members.
Member categories
It was also decided to offer membership to universities (educational institutions) and Think Tanks at the same level as individual membership. Chris Bender suggested that STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) would be an area of interest as would having NGOs, academics, think tanks as 3rd party validators. He also suggested developing sector value propositions.
Leslie brought up how to work with ADBC to engage with stakeholders, like DOD. Companies may need further help in following up and this provides ADBC an opportunity to assist our member companies.
Lina briefed the board on the Growth Council a priority of the government – consisting of several Danish Ministries, six Danish companies (members of ADBC) the Honorary Consuls, and the Innovation Center.
Ben Walker suggested starting a Young Professionals group within ADBC. Ben will be the chair of the group and look to attract interns, young staffers in Congress and government, etc. The board enthusiastically approved.
* Clint Eisenhower has been replaced by John E. Bonitt, Vice President – U.S. Government Affairs, Maersk Inc.